Reification involves the concretization of that which is intrinsically abstract. For example, weather forecasters superimpose color graphics over land maps to depict rain, sunshine, and other weather related attributes without using written text. In addition, thought bubbles are often used in comics and animation to convey (concretize) abstract thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The chain thought bubble, the universal symbol for conveying emotion in cartoons, consists of a cloud-like or elliptical bubble containing a textually expressed thought, with a chain of increasingly smaller bubbles leading to the individual to whom the emotion is attributed. Thought bubbles may also be used in circumstances when a human character is unable to speak. Although thought bubbles may contain language-independent expletives such as [“!*Λ##!], they typically rely on written text to convey information to the viewer.
Emotion may also be conveyed or nuanced through various non-textual mechanisms including facial expression, body language, lighting, and music. (See, for example, http://animationguides.com/character-emotion-in-animation/). In television, on line, and billboard advertising, commercial marketers give products a certain image by carefully selecting colors for use on their packaging and presentation. (See http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall05/rosenblatt/intro.html).
In the metaphysical field of psychic readings, it is said that all living things are surrounded by an electromagnetic aura, often described as an oval shaped, colored band of sound, light, and/or vibration. The human aura is sometimes referred to as a psychic energy field, with each color representing a person's mood or condition of their chakras. Many psychic healers and empaths are believed to be sensitive to these auras; indeed, Kirlian cameras have been extensively used to record human auras. (See http://psychiclibrary.com/beyondBooks/aura-colors-and-meanings).
Presently known photographic and video-graphic techniques are not well adapted to conveying human emotions through non-verbal modalities. Systems and methods are thus needed which overcome these shortcomings.